The Story Of The Marketing Masterstroke That Nike Pulled In The Ryder Cup
Nobody in their right mind changes their driver four days before the Ryder Cup. It's ludicrous and its dangerous. Yet the new Nike Vapor Pro driver, when it is released next January, will sell like hot cakes because Rory McIlroy did exactly that before the Ryder Cup.
I cannot even begin to imagine the wranglings, the convincing, the money or the politics involved in getting McIlroy to take out his double Major winning and perfectly performing Covert driver and use the new club in the matches but it was truly a marketing masterstroke. Follow @golfcentraldoc
What makes it strange is that there were no concurrent ads on the TV to herald in this new club, no videos on YouTube, no images online, no blurb anywhere about the club. The only advert for the driver was in the hands of the world number one who trotted the 'its longer and better than the last one' line when asked.
But you know what, he seemed to be right! This Ryder Cup will be remembered in the cold light of day by Rory McIlroy's immense driving performance which helped crush the opposition.
What if Rory had had a terrible week off the tee? That was the gamble both Nike and McIlroy took in all of this. He risked being termed a mercenary, Nike risked a massive loss in sales in a market already hit by huge losses this year.
Yet the gamble was taken and it paid off. People who never otherwise watch golf, watch the Ryder Cup and they now know that lime driver that best golfer in the world uses. At an event where every sponsorship opportunity involves writing a massive cheque to the organizers, Nike got the biggest advert of them all without even phoning them up.
That folks is how marketing is done.
Join the GolfCentralDaily community on Twitter for loads more comment on and off the course. Follow @golfcentraldoc
What makes it strange is that there were no concurrent ads on the TV to herald in this new club, no videos on YouTube, no images online, no blurb anywhere about the club. The only advert for the driver was in the hands of the world number one who trotted the 'its longer and better than the last one' line when asked.
But you know what, he seemed to be right! This Ryder Cup will be remembered in the cold light of day by Rory McIlroy's immense driving performance which helped crush the opposition.
What if Rory had had a terrible week off the tee? That was the gamble both Nike and McIlroy took in all of this. He risked being termed a mercenary, Nike risked a massive loss in sales in a market already hit by huge losses this year.
Yet the gamble was taken and it paid off. People who never otherwise watch golf, watch the Ryder Cup and they now know that lime driver that best golfer in the world uses. At an event where every sponsorship opportunity involves writing a massive cheque to the organizers, Nike got the biggest advert of them all without even phoning them up.
That folks is how marketing is done.
Join the GolfCentralDaily community on Twitter for loads more comment on and off the course. Follow @golfcentraldoc
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